Life-Size Bugatti Chiron Made of Legos Actually Runs

Model took more than 1 million pieces and 13,000 hours to build

4 September, 2018Alex Nishimoto

4 September, 2018Alex Nishimoto

Model took more than 1 million pieces and 13,000 hours to build

For nearly 70 years, Lego has shown us that just about anything can be built using its interlocking brick system. The company’s latest creation proves just that. Lego has built a life-size model of the Bugatti Chiron out of more than 1 million Lego Technic pieces. Oh, and the thing is drivable, too.

Lego says the Chiron is the first full-scale movable car it’s attempted. The engine uses 2,304 motors and 4,032 gear wheels from the Lego Technic parts catalog, which work together to create 5.3 hp and an estimated 92 Nm (roughly 68 lb-ft of torque). That’s good enough to accelerate the Lego Chiron to just over 12 mph (19 km/h). Though that’s well short of the actual Chiron’s electronically limited 261-mph (420-km/h) top speed, it’s not bad at all for a car built almost entirely out of Legos.

Weighing approximately 3,306 pounds, the Lego Chiron is only 1,100 pounds lighter than the real thing. Lego says it used no glue in the build process—only genuine Lego and Lego Technic pieces. However, the company does note there are 58 types of “custom-made” Technic elements, so if you’re thinking you can build your own working Bugatti using off-the-shelf bricks, you may be out of luck. And because Lego Technic doesn’t currently have any 21-inch wheels in its parts bin, the car rolls on genuine Chiron wheels and tires. So yeah, you’d have to source those too.

Despite those few exceptions, the car is mostly made out of Legos, and that become more apparent the closer you look at it. A series of interconnected blue triangular segments make up the Bugatti’s curvy body shape. Builders even recreated the Chiron’s interior, replicating the seats, dashboard, gauges, and steering wheel, which is removable for easier access to the cockpit. The Lego Chiron is so convincing that it even fooled Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace from a distance.

“When I first saw the Lego Chiron, I was immediately impressed by the accuracy of the model and the minute attention to detail,” said Wallace, in a release. “In fact, from about 20 meters away it’s not obvious that you are looking at a Lego car. I can only imagine how much time and effort went into making this model.”

But you don’t have to imagine, as Lego says the project took 13,438 man hours to complete, including development and actual construction time. And we thought building the 7,500-piece Lego Millennium Falcon was a big commitment.

See how Lego did it in the videos above, and also see the Lego Chiron up close in the huge photo gallery below.